100 Greatest Songs of the 80’s #76 Belouis Some – Imagination

Released : 1986

There’s no magic formula for creating a hit, otherwise everyone who wanted one could have one. Neville Keighley had spent more than a year jousting with his record label about the subject, with the suits expressing their mounting frustration; Belouis Some made for some consternation in Britain as many struggled to pronounce it, or quizzed themselves whether it stood for an artist or a band.

All of this doubt was washed away one rainy Saturday afternoon in New York. An ensemble cast made up of two thirds of Chic and the backing players on David Bowie‘s Heroes gathered for the session which would produce Imagination, a song indebted to sparse funk of both Nile Rodgers and Prince, the orgasmic moans and dirty minds keying into the decade’s new found penchant for designer clothes, violence and sex.

The singer would return to EMI and duly hand over what he instinctively knew would make him famous, but just to make sure he hired the renowned graphic artist Storm Thorgerson to create a promotional video littered with nudity, symbolism and hints of S&M. Sex, Chic and rock n’ roll: Jackpot.

Warning: Video video contains nudity. Adults Only.